Fear sabotages success.
Elite leaders are very good at making plans and creating strategies that, when executed, lead to great results.
But one thing gets in the way. It’s a thing that most of us don’t like to admit to ourselves. It’s called fear.
Fear sabotages success. It keeps us from taking the critical next step from plan to action.
The way we overcome fear is with courage. Ironically, the definition of courage involves fear.
Courage – ‘the choice or willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, and intimidation.’
Fear is a necessary part of being courageous. Courage is fear in action.
Our South Africa team recently unpacked this element of courage with a client using our popular A Leadership Legacy: Head, Heart, Hoof® program. This program is a framework to equip people to become elite leaders. The head signifies our will to win, the heart signifies the courage to overcome fear, and the hoof signified the speed of our execution.
Clients can engage a VIP experience as a part of this program. In the US, we go to Churchill Downs or Claiborne Farm (final resting place for Secretariat) in Kentucky to bring the race experience to life. Our South Africa team was able to visit Monaghan Farm using COVID-19 safety protocols. Upon arrival at the farm, the Riverbend team learned that several of the executives on the tour had negative experiences with horses in their past and were feeling a good bit of fear going into the day.
The Riverbend and Monaghan Farm teams were able to provide these executives an experience that allowed them to face their fears while walking, grooming & training horses. They then spent the rest of the day unpacking the business fears they hold, keeping them from executing their strong strategies. The learning in action was powerful for the entire team. 
We all have fears when it comes to our leadership….and given the chaos of the last year, our fears may be a bigger hinderance than they normally would be this year. As we start executing on our 2021 goals, let’s ask ourselves what fears might be holding us back? What about our team? How can we equip ourselves and our teams to move beyond our fears and leave a leadership legacy this year?